[19x03] February 10th, 2013

[KennyStang]

Overall I give this show an 8. It's good classic Top Gear.

Anyone else find it really strange that they said the FRS/BRZ/GT86 got a 1:31.3 on the track? That's faster than an E46 M3 (1:31.8) and an NSX-R (1:31.6). I'm an avid fan of the show, but someone had to have screwed up the track timing on that one.

Granted the NSX-R were in the "wet" and the GT86 was in "damp" conditions, I still don't see how the GT86 was so quick especially on the Prius tires

 

[the Interceptor]

How the heck did they begin the season with two less than mediocre episodes and then come up with this gem? Given, it was not absolutely perfect, and I may be a little positively biased because I was pleasantly surprised after two letdowns, but for me, this was quite a good episode by global Top Gear standards as well.

Toyota GT86 & Subaru BRZ: nice review, proper car info (the boring stuff) and good summary on what these cars are about. I missed something like a verdict though, the piece just ended. Still, good stuff...
News: very good! No stupid clowning around, felt quite natural between the three, and there was some car info
Shelby vs. public transport: old style race, very nice. It showed how well the show works when they peel off the giggly masquerade, lean back and do some proper work. There were some small bits and pieces which came across strange (do you really get a new Shelby GT 500 for 35k Pounds in the UK?), but it was buried under a really nice and thrilling piece of film with a great Shelby mini-tribute thrown in, so it didn't really matter. I liked most things about it though, like how Jeremy did some calcs and realized that the numerous fuel stops cost him so much time that it might have been quicker to use a diesel limousine. I liked the car though, and I think they gave it the correct resume
Amy MacDonald: I didn't really know her before, but I'd never suspect a car person under that fragile and cute shell. She came across a bit boring, but then she seems symphatically down to earth. Nice lap, too!

Verdict: Boys, why not always like this? 8/10 easily, bordering a 9!

 

[Sascha77]

Anyone else find it really strange that they said the FRS/BRZ/GT86 got a 1:31.3 on the track? That's faster than an E46 M3 (1:31.8) and an NSX-R (1:31.6). I'm an avid fan of the show, but someone had to have screwed up the track timing on that one.

Now that you've brought it up.. it really doesn't sound right.

Damp track, relatively heavy, not super-powerful car, skinny tires, tail-happy setup...

When you look at the laptimes of cars with similar power (Civic Type R, Golf GTI, etc.) it seems even less credible. They're slightly older, yes, but both the Honda and the VW were timed on a dry track and are supposedly 1 - 2 seconds slower .. hmmm.

For comparison: A German car mag timed the GT at 1:21.5 on Hockenheim Short. The same mag timed a Type R at 1:21.2 and a MK V GTI at 1:19.6 - both in 2007.


S.

 

[Tzarrim]

Toyota bit was interesting, news was nice. SIARPC I wasn't a fan of, good lap and all that but she's boring. The race.... I dunno, uninspiring car and not a whole lot of information or extra tidbits (probably because the car was uninspiring) and nothing really happened at all. I bet that car choice was a last minute thing, they could have chosen something much more interesting, perhaps one of the hybrid cars.

If possible I'd give it a 6.5/10

 

[KennyStang]

Now that you've brought it up.. it really doesn't sound right.

Damp track, relatively heavy, not super-powerful car, skinny tires, tail-happy setup...

When you look at the laptimes of cars with similar power (Civic Type R, Golf GTI, etc.) it seems even less credible. They're slightly older, yes, but both the Honda and the VW were timed on a dry track and are supposedly 1 - 2 seconds slower .. hmmm.

For comparison: A German car mag timed the GT at 1:21.5 on Hockenheim Short. The same mag timed a Type R at 1:21.2 and a MK V GTI at 1:19.6 - both in 2007.


S.

Yes, also the Vauxhall VX220 Turbo which makes the same power ast the FT86 (200bhp) but weighing somewhere between 600-800 lbs less did the exact same time in dry conditions. Such a discrepancy could be explained by stating that the GT86 is a great handling car, but the VX220 is no slouch in that department and was Top Gear's and JC's top car back when it first came out. Suffice is to say, I dont see how the GT86 put down those times... it would be very very difficult for it to do that on a dry track, with track tires, and optimal conditions... but on a damp track on skinny non-performance tires... that's just not possible.

 

[DaShowstoppa]

From Ford? Didn't see the Mustang on their UK-website. And 35000 GBP for the Shelby?
S.

Well you could a little while ago. There was a place on the M3 Motorway that sold them. (They might have just been regular Mustangs though) Ironically they now sell BMW M3's.

Seen a few Mustangs around though, so someone is importing them over here.

 

[controlspecimen]

I think they should have showed a bit more of Milan in the race--they've never been there, and they made Oslo look brilliant in the SLR race back in 2005. Surely Jeremy drove by some cool landmarks? I don't think they had any helicopter shots of the car either, right? It looked like they used canned shots of TGV trains only, probably for budget reasons.

The whole premise was also kind of weird--Hammond got go to a match but they didn't show anything happen there or do anything with it? Why not have a better finish line where the car wouldn't just sit in boring traffic at the end?

 

[shellygrrl]

I see no reason at all to think that the result was in any way fixed although I think that the plan was known all along that May would try to beat Hammond on the bike. May does run on television and has done on a number of occasions since the first couple of races and that did rather smack of a set up but I say that only in hindsight and enjoyed it while it happened.

Very true. But yeah, in this case I didn't care, either.

 

[Wing Nut]

SIRPC was excellent - what a talented and nice person (Have you heard her sing?)
Rest of the show was good - I marked this down a bit because I was too generous last week.

I should have throttled back a point on the last two shows too. Gave this show an 8/10, but it was much better than last week's 8/10! That leaves room now for the enjoyable nonsense ahead that's hinted at in the Ep.1 montage.

I suspect the Toyubaru will be the weapon of choice for drifters when they wear out all the rear wheel drive Nissans.

Many here reckon they've never heard of the SIARPC. I'd probably be amongst them if she hadn't sung Poison Prince, one of my all-time favourite tunes. Amazing how such a heavy accent gets lost in the song, though the same can't be said for the Proclaimers.

 

[02rsxpilot]

I guess I'm harder to impress than most TG viewers. This, like the other two before it, felt very flat to me and they continue to leave me wanting in terms of actual car content.

Toyota/BRZ review: Lots of Jeremy sliding it around corners, which is great fun on a runway, but completely useless to anyone actually interested in if it's a good car. Would have liked a lot more content devoted to how it is to actually drive, the interior, etc... like they used to do with the cars they review. And it may be a UK/US thing, but here in the US, I've been told the Subaru version is better equipped than the Scion. Haven't been bothered to actually verify that though as I think the car is a bit...well ugly.

SIARPC: Amy was awesome. Guys like good looking girls that are in to cars. Imagine that.

Race: Loved it when May busted out the bike (kept wondering why he had a big suitcase the whole time). Wish he would have won. With the Mustang, same as above, not enough real car content. Finally at the very end we got the report that it is exhausting to drive and not refined at all. Other than that, we got some specs, a complaint about the fuel tank size, and Jeremy didn't like the sat nav and data on the dash (which he doesn't like in any car). And anyone else notice they used the same highway shot at least two or three times? That's disappointing given the budget this show has. Like many, I love seeing the scenery they go through as much as the car.

Thanks to Amy, and at least because the format was reminiscent to the glory days of TG, this one ekes out a 7 from me.

 

[abczyx]

Well, I was going to give this a rewatch on iPlayer, but it seems to have gone missing!

 

[idk]

In contrast to the last episodes, I can't complain. A really proper TopGear episode. As I've written in last weeks review, it also didn't leave me stunned as the first races many years ago, but this one wasn't completely missing the old spirit. Keep going like that guys!!! Much better than last weeks road trip.

And anyone else notice they used the same highway shot at least two or three times?.

I did. But didn't bother me too much. I think that they also showed different types of TGV trains on the outside shots (in one shot it was a TGV with 2 levels I think)

For the first time since long long long long time ago I enjoyed the star. That young lady was adorable. Although it was rather difficult for me to understand her.

 

[928 GTS]

Two small changes and Jeremy would have very likely won the race. Any 2-3L modern turbodiesel would have done it with just one fuel stop. Mustang needed 5 or 6 fillups if mpg and tank size numbers quoted are anywhere near correct. This alone means some 30 minutes extra driving time caused by car choice. Though Jeremy might not be able to make it with just one stop.

Another thing is route Jeremy took. It would be about 20 miles shorter to go through more northern route close to German border and then go down to Italy through central Switzerland. Lenght difference alone isn't helping much but this might have avoided 50+ miles long French roadworks. Google maps gives only 5 minute difference between routes but it doesn't know actual traffic conditions so its hard to say which would actually be faster option.

Then again other two could have taken taxi to airport and been there before noon.

 

[idk]

What always wonders me in episodes like this: It's not like that they can really make up time in a speed limit country like France. I bet they can't go much more than 130 km/h...

I'm sure all hell would break loose for the BBC if they were known to do "excessive speeding" on motorways.

PS: What I want to say: The would have come to the same result if they used a Renault Clio. Or.. no. Jeremy would have won with a Clio. The speed or acceleration of a car isn't a criteria in such a race. Just saying, because at the beginning they were mocking Jeremy because the Mustang isn't a good choice because it isn't very agile..

 

[Hachi Kid]

anyone in the scene of this episode that they superimposed Jeremy's face in the Mustang in one shot, and then blurred out his face in the next shot? this was right after it showed the shot of the frenchman jackhammering away at the street during all the "contraflow".....wtf is going on here?!

 

[928 GTS]

anyone in the scene of this episode that they superimposed Jeremy's face in the Mustang in one shot, and then blurred out his face in the next shot? this was right after it showed the shot of the frenchman jackhammering away at the street during all the "contraflow".....wtf is going on here?!

Probably someone else driving at the time. They spend more time filming these races than it actually takes to drive the distance. Much of the footage isn't done during actual race.

 

[Ayman]

Wait, is this real??



What's this one?



Oh dear god, now it's male models up front too !!


Anyway, pictures aside... Fabulous, loved every minute.
I don't care if the Toyota review is recycled Worst Car stuff... They don't make a TopGear item with the assumption that the audience has seen everything else they've made, and they shouldn't. I didn't mind.
The guest was epic, after Fleetwood's boring interview, I loved this, I adore Amy, and when Jezza said she was a petrolhead I thought "Amber Heard, back off.".
The race, oh ... The Race. Brings back such fond memories... I always love it when Jeremy wins, sadly he didn't this time, and even though the loss wasn't rigged imo, it still felt wrong. A great race though, I'd missed those very much.

Most of all though, the fun factor. I can hardly remember a show where I'd laughed this much throughout, the book reading, the smile-on-face ... Lots of other hilarious moments. I found myself grinning every time I'd snapped out of my viewing trance.

 

[Hachi Kid]

see?

 

[Arnout]

anyone in the scene of this episode that they superimposed Jeremy's face in the Mustang in one shot, and then blurred out his face in the next shot? this was right after it showed the shot of the frenchman jackhammering away at the street during all the "contraflow".....wtf is going on here?!

Probably another driver driving for TV shots.

Great episode. The Toybaru stuff was interesting, although I prefer a B-road for reviews like this, it does the car more justice. Still, a car that wouldn't be my choice for that amount of money (I would go for second hand), but a very interesting concept as it goes back to driving fun in a time where cars either seem to have a gazillion horsepower and are equally expensive, or are horrible little ecoboxes with a turbocharger only to compensate for the lack of power from the tiny little engine. I like this.

The news was still a bit weird. They all three seem to be a bit nervous and giggly and over the top in the news. Not as bad as in the first two shows.

The race was epic. I had a smile on my face for the best part of it. Especially the little piece about Shelby, it took me by complete surprise as I just didn't expect this sort of things anymore. The great thing about Top Gear has always been that it was a show about cars and motoring, with three interesting characters, not some show which uses cars to produce B-comedy. The race was about the first thing, I hope they can keep it up.

Pity they didn't show more of Milan than the underground and the San Siro area, which is the most run-down area of the city. That's just something personal though. I was quite surprised that May didn't beat Hammond, but I'm inclined to believe it was a genuine loss. Luckily they didn't play the he is lost card for once. May looked properly epic on a bike too.

All in all, really enjoyable and miles better than the first two episodes.

 

[narf]

What always wonders me in episodes like this: It's not like that they can really make up time in a speed limit country like France. I bet they can't go much more than 130 km/h...

I'm sure all hell would break loose for the BBC if they were known to do "excessive speeding" on motorways.

PS: What I want to say: The would have come to the same result if they used a Renault Clio. Or.. no. Jeremy would have won with a Clio. The speed or acceleration of a car isn't a criteria in such a race. Just saying, because at the beginning they were mocking Jeremy because the Mustang isn't a good choice because it isn't very agile..

In pretty much any race the best car to do the job would be a TDI A6 Avant, one with the 80l fuel tank. This race was roughly 800 miles, that'd give you 38mpgus/45mpguk/6.2l/100km - very doable without refuelling or hypermiling, in great comfort and all the speed you (legally) need.